BLADE WIELDER

Most hardcore kids don’t care about sustainability.

They burn everyone out. They refuse to pay bands what they’re worth, and refuse to allow promoters to make a profit. They won’t pay what a 7” is worth, making the pressing of the format most closely tied to the culture nothing but a promotional item or loss leader.

They don’t understand the idea of a markup on goods. They believe that breaking even is the same as sustainable.

The markup on a punk 7” is 100%. That sounds good, right? Look at the projected sales and tell me that 100% markup is sustainable. Can’t. The numbers aren’t there.

Punk LPs are $10-$12. Indie rock LPs are $20. This might seem like a small difference, but I assure you it makes a MASSIVE difference to the artist.

If Converge called themselves a metal band, people wouldn’t think twice about $30+ tickets. But, because the band is closely associated with hardcore, there’s an entitlement on the part of the fans.

That’s a choice Converge has made and I don’t presume to tell the band how to do business. But, I would argue the fan who is unwilling to pay more is misinformed at best and a true jerkoff at worst.

"What’s the most you’d pay for a hardcore show?" Should never be a separate question from, "What’s the most you’d pay for a show?"

introducing: babbuvengers

i know a dozen ppl were waiting for this but it remained a secret until now hawhawhaw :3

Rape has become endemic in South Africa, so a medical technician named Sonette Ehlers developed a product that immediately gathered national attention there. Ehlers had never forgotten a rape victim telling her forlornly, “If only I had teeth down there.”

Some time afterward, a man came into the hospital where Ehlers works in excruciating pain because his penis was stuck in his pants zipper.

Ehlers merged those images and came up with a product she called Rapex. It resembles a tube, with barbs inside. The woman inserts it like a tampon, with an applicator, and any man who tries to rape the woman impales himself on the barbs and must go to an emergency room to have the Rapex removed.

When critics complained that it was a medieval punishment, Ehlers replied tersely, “A medieval device for a medieval deed.”